# European Film Award for Best Director

The European Film Award for Best Director is an award given out at the annual European Film Awards to recognize a director who has exhibited outstanding directing while working in a film industry. The award is presented by the European Film Academy (EFA) and was first presented in 1988 to German director Wim Wenders for Wings of Desire.
Michael Haneke is the director with most wins in the category with three, followed by Pedro Almodóvar, Paolo Sorrentino, Paweł Pawlikowski and Ruben Östlund, with two wins each. Almodovar is the most nominated director with six nominations for the award. Danish director Susanne Bier was the first female director to receive the award, winning for In a Better World in 2011.

## Winners and nominees
### 1980s

| Year | Winner and nominees | English title | Original title |
| 1988 (1st) | Wim Wenders | Wings of Desire | Der Himmel über Berlin |
| 1988 (1st) | Terence Davies | Distant Voices, Still Lives | Distant Voices, Still Lives |
| 1988 (1st) | Manoel de Oliveira | The Cannibals | Os Canibais |
| 1988 (1st) | Louis Malle | Au revoir, les enfants | Au revoir, les enfants |
| 1988 (1st) | Sergei Parajanov | Ashik Kerib | აშიკ-ქერიბი |
| 1989 (2nd) | Géza Bereményi | Eldorádó | Eldorádó |
| 1989 (2nd) | Theodoros Angelopoulos | Landscape in the Mist | Τοπίο στην ομίχλη |
| 1989 (2nd) | Maciej Dejczer | 300 Miles to Heaven | 300 mil do nieba |
| 1989 (2nd) | Vasili Pichul | Little Vera | Ма́ленькая Ве́ра (Malenkaya Vera) |
| 1989 (2nd) | Jim Sheridan | My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown | My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown |

### 2000s

| Year | Winner and nominees | English title | Original title |
| 2000 (13th) | No award given | No award given | No award given |
| 2001 (14th) | Jean-Pierre Jeunet | Amélie | Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain |
| 2001 (14th) | José Luis Garci | You're the One | You're the one (una historia de entonces) |
| 2001 (14th) | Péter Gothár | Passport | Paszport |
| 2001 (14th) | Emanno Olmi | The Profession of Arms | Il mestiere delle armi |
| 2001 (14th) | François Ozon | Under the Sand | Sous le sable |
| 2001 (14th) | Éric Rohmer | The Lady and the Duke | L'Anglaise et le duc |
| 2002 (15th) | Pedro Almodóvar | Talk to Her | Hable con ella |
| 2002 (15th) | Marco Bellocchio | My Mother's Smile | L'ora di religione (Il sorriso di mia madre) |
| 2002 (15th) | Andreas Dresen | Grill Point | Halbe Treppe |
| 2002 (15th) | Aki Kaurismäki | The Man Without a Past | Mies vailla menneisyyttä |
| 2002 (15th) | Mike Leigh | All or Nothing | All or Nothing |
| 2002 (15th) | Ken Loach | Sweet Sixteen | Sweet Sixteen |
| 2002 (15th) | / Roman Polański | The Pianist | The Pianist |
| 2002 (15th) | Alexander Sokurov | Russian Ark | Русский ковчег (Russkij Kovcheg) |
| 2003 (16th) | Lars von Trier | Dogville | Dogville |
| 2003 (16th) | Wolfgang Becker | Good Bye Lenin! | Good Bye Lenin! |
| 2003 (16th) | Nuri Bilge Ceylan | Distant | Uzak |
| 2003 (16th) | Isabel Coixet | My Life Without Me | My Life Without Me |
| 2003 (16th) | Marco Tullio Giordana | The Best of Youth | La meglio gioventù |
| 2003 (16th) | Michael Winterbottom | In This World | In This World |
| 2004 (17th) | Alejandro Amenábar | The Sea Inside | Mar adentro |
| 2004 (17th) | / Fatih Akin | Head-On | Gegen die Wand |
| 2004 (17th) | Pedro Almodóvar | Bad Education | La mala educación |
| 2004 (17th) | Theo Angelopoulos | Trilogy: The Weeping Meadow | Τριλογία: Το λιβάδι που δακρύζει |
| 2004 (17th) | / Nimród Antal | Kontroll | Kontroll |
| 2004 (17th) | Agnès Jaoui | Look at Me | Comme une image |
| 2005 (18th) | / Michael Haneke | Caché | Caché |
| 2005 (18th) | Susanne Bier | Brothers | Brødre |
| 2005 (18th) | Roberto Faenza | Come Into the Light | Alla luce del sole |
| 2005 (18th) | Álex de la Iglesia | The Perfect Crime | Crimen ferpecto |
| 2005 (18th) | Paweł Pawlikowski | My Summer of Love | My Summer of Love |
| 2005 (18th) | Cristi Puiu | The Death of Mr. Lazarescu | Moartea domnului Lăzărescu |
| 2005 (18th) | Wim Wenders | Don't Come Knocking | Don't Come Knocking |
| 2006 (19th) | Pedro Almodóvar | Volver | Volver |
| 2006 (19th) | Susanne Bier | After the Wedding | Efter brylluppet |
| 2006 (19th) | Emanuele Crialese | The Golden Door | Nuovomondo |
| 2006 (19th) | / Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck | The Lives of Others | Das Leben der Anderen |
| 2006 (19th) | Ken Loach | The Wind That Shakes the Barley | The Wind That Shakes the Barley |
| 2006 (19th) | Michael Winterbottom Mat Whitecross | The Road to Guantanamo | The Road to Guantanamo |
| 2007 (20th) | Cristian Mungiu | 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days | 4 luni, 3 săptămâni şi 2 zile |
| 2007 (20th) | / Fatih Akin | The Edge of Heaven | Auf der anderen Seite |
| 2007 (20th) | Roy Andersson | You, the Living | Du levande |
| 2007 (20th) | Stephen Frears | The Queen | The Queen |
| 2007 (20th) | Kevin Macdonald | The Last King of Scotland | The Last King of Scotland |
| 2007 (20th) | Giuseppe Tornatore | The Unknown | La sconosciuta |
| 2008 (21st) | Matteo Garrone | Gomorrah | Gomorra |
| 2008 (21st) | Laurent Cantet | The Class | Entre les murs |
| 2008 (21st) | Andreas Dresen | Cloud 9 | Wolke neun |
| 2008 (21st) | Ari Folman | Waltz with Bashir | Vals im Bashir |
| 2008 (21st) | Steve McQueen | Hunger | Hunger |
| 2008 (21st) | Paolo Sorrentino | Il Divo | Il Divo |
| 2009 (22nd) | / Michael Haneke | The White Ribbon | Das weiße Band |
| 2009 (22nd) | Pedro Almodóvar | Broken Embraces | Los abrazos rotos |
| 2009 (22nd) | Andrea Arnold | Fish Tank | Fish Tank |
| 2009 (22nd) | Jacques Audiard | A Prophet | Un prophète |
| 2009 (22nd) | Danny Boyle | Slumdog Millionaire | Slumdog Millionaire |
| 2009 (22nd) | Lars von Trier | Antichrist | Antichrist |

### 2010s

| Year | Winner and nominees | English title | Original title |
| 2010 (23rd) | / Roman Polanski | The Ghost Writer | The Ghost Writer |
| 2010 (23rd) | Olivier Assayas | Carlos | Carlos |
| 2010 (23rd) | Semih Kaplanoğlu | Honey | Bal |
| 2010 (23rd) | Samuel Maoz | Lebanon | Lebanon |
| 2010 (23rd) | Paolo Virzì | The First Beautiful Thing | La prima cosa bella |
| 2011 (24th) | Susanne Bier | In a Better World | Hævnen |
| 2011 (24th) | Jean-Pierre Dardenne & Luc Dardenne | The Kid with a Bike | Le Gamin au vélo |
| 2011 (24th) | Aki Kaurismäki | Le Havre | Le Havre |
| 2011 (24th) | Béla Tarr | The Turin Horse | A torinói ló |
| 2011 (24th) | Lars von Trier | Melancholia | Melancholia |
| 2012 (25th) | / Michael Haneke | Amour | Amour |
| 2012 (25th) | Nuri Bilge Ceylan | Once Upon a Time in Anatolia | Bir zamanlar Anadolu'da |
| 2012 (25th) | Steve McQueen | Shame | Shame |
| 2012 (25th) | Thomas Vinterberg | The Hunt | Jagten |
| 2012 (25th) | Paolo and Vittorio Taviani | Caesar Must Die | Cesare deve morire |
| 2013 (26th) | Paolo Sorrentino | The Great Beauty | La grande belleza |
| 2013 (26th) | Pablo Berger | Blancanieves | Blancanieves |
| 2013 (26th) | Felix Van Groeningen | The Broken Circle Breakdown | The Broken Circle Breakdown |
| 2013 (26th) | / Abdellatif Kechiche | Blue Is the Warmest Colour | La Vie d'Adèle – Chapitres 1 & 2 |
| 2013 (26th) | François Ozon | In the House | Dans la maison |
| 2013 (26th) | Giuseppe Tornatore | The Best Offer | La migliore offerta |
| 2014 (27th) | Paweł Pawlikowski | Ida | Ida |
| 2014 (27th) | Nuri Bilge Ceylan | Winter Sleep | Kış Uykusu |
| 2014 (27th) | Steven Knight | Locke | Locke |
| 2014 (27th) | Ruben Östlund | Force Majeure | Turist |
| 2014 (27th) | Paolo Virzì | Human Capital | Il capitale umano |
| 2014 (27th) | Andrey Zvyagintsev | Leviathan | Левиафан (Leviafan) |
| 2015 (28th) | Paolo Sorrentino | Youth | Youth |
| 2015 (28th) | Roy Andersson | A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence | En duva satt på en gren och funderade på tillvaron |
| 2015 (28th) | Yorgos Lanthimos | The Lobster | The Lobster |
| 2015 (28th) | Nanni Moretti | Mia madre | Mia madre |
| 2015 (28th) | Sebastian Schipper | Victoria | Victoria |
| 2015 (28th) | Małgorzata Szumowska | Body | Body / Ciało |
| 2016 (29th) | Maren Ade | Toni Erdmann | Toni Erdmann |
| 2016 (29th) | Pedro Almodóvar | Julieta | Julieta |
| 2016 (29th) | Ken Loach | I, Daniel Blake | I, Daniel Blake |
| 2016 (29th) | Cristian Mungiu | Graduation | Bacalaureat |
| 2016 (29th) | Paul Verhoeven | Elle | Elle |
| 2017 (30th) | Ruben Östlund | The Square | The Square |
| 2017 (30th) | Ildikó Enyedi | On Body and Soul | Testről és lélekről |
| 2017 (30th) | Aki Kaurismäki | The Other Side of Hope | Toivon tuolla puolen |
| 2017 (30th) | Yorgos Lanthimos | The Killing of a Sacred Deer | The Killing of a Sacred Deer |
| 2017 (30th) | Andrey Zvyagintsev | Loveless | Нелюбовь (Nelyubov) |
| 2018 (31st) | Paweł Pawlikowski | Cold War | Zimna wojna |
| 2018 (31st) | / Ali Abbasi | Border | Gräns |
| 2018 (31st) | Matteo Garrone | Dogman | Dogman |
| 2018 (31st) | Samuel Maoz | Foxtrot | פוֹקְסטְרוֹט |
| 2018 (31st) | Alice Rohrwacher | Happy as Lazzaro | Lazzaro felice |
| 2019 (32nd) | Yorgos Lanthimos | The Favourite | The Favourite |
| 2019 (32nd) | Pedro Almodóvar | Pain and Glory | Dolor y gloria |
| 2019 (32nd) | Marco Bellocchio | The Traitor | Il traditore |
| 2019 (32nd) | / Roman Polanski | An Officer and a Spy | J'accuse |
| 2019 (32nd) | Céline Sciamma | Portrait of a Lady on Fire | Portrait de la jeune fille en feu |

### 2020s

| Year | Winner and nominees | English title | Original title |
| 2020 (33rd) | Thomas Vinterberg | Another Round | Druk |
| 2020 (33rd) | Agnieszka Holland | Charlatan | Šarlatán |
| 2020 (33rd) | Jan Komasa | Corpus Christi | Boże Ciało |
| 2020 (33rd) | Pietro Marcello | Martin Eden | Martin Eden |
| 2020 (33rd) | François Ozon | Summer of 85 | Été 85 |
| 2020 (33rd) | Maria Sødahl | Hope | Håp |
| 2021 (34th) | Jasmila Žbanić | Quo Vadis, Aida? | Quo Vadis, Aida? |
| 2021 (34th) | Radu Jude | Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn | Babardeală cu bucluc sau porno balamuc |
| 2021 (34th) | Florian Zeller | The Father | The Father |
| 2021 (34th) | Paolo Sorrentino | The Hand of God | È stata la mano di Dio |
| 2021 (34th) | Julia Ducournau | Titane | Titane |
| 2022 (35th) | Ruben Östlund | Triangle of Sadness | Triangle of Sadness |
| 2022 (35th) | Lukas Dhont | Close | Close |
| 2022 (35th) | Marie Kreutzer | Corsage | Corsage |
| 2022 (35th) | Jerzy Skolimowski | Eo | Eo |
| 2022 (35th) | / Ali Abbasi | Holy Spider | Holy Spider |
| 2022 (35th) | Alice Diop | Saint Omer | Saint Omer |
| 2023 (36th) | Justine Triet | Anatomy of a Fall | Anatomie d'une chute |
| 2023 (36th) | Aki Kaurismäki | Fallen Leaves | Kuolleet lehdet |
| 2023 (36th) | Agnieszka Holland | Green Border | Zielona granica |
| 2023 (36th) | Matteo Garrone | Me Captain | Io capitano |
| 2023 (36th) | Jonathan Glazer | The Zone of Interest | The Zone of Interest |
| 2024 (37th) | Jacques Audiard | Emilia Pérez | Emilia Pérez |
| 2024 (37th) | Andrea Arnold | Bird | Bird |
| 2024 (37th) | Pedro Almodóvar | The Room Next Door | The Room Next Door |
| 2024 (37th) | Mohammad Rasoulof | The Seed of the Sacred Fig | دانه‌ی انجیر معابد |
| 2024 (37th) | Maura Delpero | Vermiglio | Vermiglio |

## Multiple wins and nominations
### Multiple wins

| Wins | Director |
| 3 | Michael Haneke |
| 2 | Pedro Almodóvar |
| 2 | Ruben Östlund |
| 2 | Paweł Pawlikowski |
| 2 | Paolo Sorrentino |

### Most nominations

| Nominations | Director |
| 7 | Pedro Almodóvar |
| 4 | Aki Kaurismäki |
| 4 | Paolo Sorrentino |
| 3 | Susanne Bier |
| 3 | Nuri Bilge Ceylan |
| 3 | Matteo Garrone |
| 3 | Michael Haneke |
| 3 | Yorgos Lanthimos |
| 3 | Ken Loach |
| 3 | Ruben Östlund |
| 3 | François Ozon |
| 3 | Paweł Pawlikowski |
| 3 | / Roman Polanski |
| 3 | Lars Von Trier |
| 2 | / Ali Abbasi |
| 2 | / Fatih Akın |
| 2 | Roy Andersson |
| 2 | Theo Angelopoulos |
| 2 | Andrea Arnold |
| 2 | Jacques Audiard |
| 2 | Marco Bellocchio |
| 2 | Andreas Dresen |
| 2 | Agnieszka Holland |
| 2 | Samuel Maoz |
| 2 | Steve McQueen |
| 2 | Cristian Mungiu |
| 2 | Giuseppe Tornatore |
| 2 | Thomas Vinterberg |
| 2 | Paolo Virzì |
| 2 | Wim Wenders |
| 2 | Michael Winterbottom |
| 2 | Andrey Zvyagintsev |